This college football bowl season has been a fun ride yet again, but the time has arrived for the serious business to commence as the New Year’s Six slate kicks off on Thursday night. It begins with the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with No. 10 Michigan State battling No. 12 Pittsburgh in a matchup featuring Big Ten and ACC foes.
Pitt comes into the game as ACC champions after beating Wake Forest in the ACC Championship Game 45-21. The Panthers went 11-2 during the regular season, thanks mainly to Heisman finalist quarterback Kenny Pickett. He led an offense that scored 43 points per game this season, a tally that ranks third nationally. The Panthers come into the game having won five straight, and their only two losses came to Western Michigan (one of the bigger head-scratchers of the year) and Miami by a combined total of seven points.
Michigan State is 10-2 and finished in third place in the Big Ten East Division despite a conference record of 7-2. It’s a disappointing finish when you consider that the Spartans were the only Big Ten team to beat eventual conference champion Michigan, but lost the following week to Purdue. That, coupled with a 56-7 loss to Ohio State, kept the Spartans out of the Big Ten Championship Game.
Michigan State has dominated the all-time series between the programs, winning six of the seven meetings (the teams tied 7-7 in 1960). Still, while meetings between the programs are rare, there’s plenty of familiarity in play. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was Michigan State’s defensive coordinator from 2007 to 2014.
Michigan State vs. Pitt: Need to know
Neither Kenny Pickett nor Kenneth Walker III will play: Unfortunately, two of the game’s biggest headliners will not be playing. Kenny Pickett (third…
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